This Cliche Tragedy
by Suna.Tenma
Summary: Everyone knows that life isnt fair, and it's every parents job to prepare their child for that. I've been told this my whole life, but I never expected that job to be mine. At least, not like this. My name is Hinata, and today was the worst day of my life
1. Kodomo

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto is copyrighted to the creator, Masashi Kimimoto. This story is purely fan-made and is in no way associated with the anime company or the artist who created it.

* * *

.x.THEN.x.

I can't say I had a normal childhood. My childhood was anything but. Being an heir to the Hyuuga clan is not as easy as it sounds, especially for someone as shy as me. The pressure was incredible. At the age of five, my stutter was in full force. I could hardly find my voice to speak when spoken to, and my favorite time of the day was when my parents finally allowed me to retreat to my room in solitude. But then, when I turned six, my worst nightmare became a reality. I had to face school.

School itself actually didn't seem too frightening. It was the prospect of having to "make friends" that terrified me. I had never been very outgoing, and trying to introduce myself to strange new kids was not my idea of a fun day. But, through a lot of fighting, my parents finally forced me to go to school.

On the first day, the teachers were all really kind, and used quiet, comforting voices. The kids, on the other hand, were an entirely different story. All the students were _supposed_ to be sitting criss-cross applesauce in the circle, but many students' curiosity had gotten the better of them, and they had taken off across the room, examining the various trinkets placed high upon the shelves and out of their reach. Only a few students remained in the circle, and the teachers had already abandoned the thought of getting them all back. Still sitting in the circle were three other students. A chunky brown-haired boy sat across the circle from me, sucking his thumb, eyes closed in content. Two spaces to his left was a small boy with raven hair, who sat with his arms crossed and glared across the room with a bored expression on his tiny six-year-old face. And then, a few feet to my right, there was a boy with long, shaggy brown hair that almost covered his eyes. Sleeping soundly in his lap was a small, white puppy. The boy stroked it affectionately, looking down at it with what could only be love in his eyes. I watched this go on for a few minutes, when suddenly, he looked up at me, and we locked eyes. I quickly looked away, blushing. I stared intently at the pink-haired girl across the room, looking at herself in the mirror next to a small blonde haired girl. But I really wasn't paying attention. I was wondering when the boy with the dog would stop looking at me. I could feel his gaze on my back, and I wondered if anyone else could feel the intensity. Cautiously, I stole a glance over my shoulder, just to lock eyes with him again. This time, though, I didn't turn away. Instead, I just continued to stare, frozen with fear. I was horrible at talking to people. What was I supposed to say?

"You can pet him if you want." He said softly, gesturing to the dog in his lap. I turned to face him, a hint of terror in my eyes, but also a glint of curiosity.

"R-really?" I whispered, feeling a rising excitement within me. I had always loved animals, but I had always been too frightened to approach one.

He nodded his head once, and slowly I reached my hand out towards the sleeping animal. I carefully placed my hand on his head, and tenderly ran my hand down his spine. His fur was smooth, and I could tell this dog was well cared for. I continued to pet him, and the boy sat quietly, watching the affectionate movements of my hand across the animal's fur. We sat there in silence for a while, both of us listening to the sound of the dog's peaceful breathing. After a while, the dog woke up, lifting his head sleepily and giving a small, drowsy "ruff".

I snapped my hand back, pulling it tight to my chest.

"Oh, I'm s-so s-sorry, I th-think I w-woke him up." I said apologetically, feeling horrible that I had woken the animal from its slumber.

"No, it's all right." The boy replied, a warm smile lighting up his face. "You didn't wake him up; he was probably just done sleeping." His voice was very reassuring, and I nodded slowly, my lips curving into a small smile.

"Okay…" I whispered, looking back to the dog, who had crawled out of his owner's lap and was now stretching on the floor in front of me.

"So, what's your name?" He asked me, giving me a curious stare and tilting his head to the side. He reminded me of a puppy, with the way he looked at me.

"H-hinata." I replied shakily, my stutter revealing itself very plainly.

"My name's Kiba." He stated proudly. Then, nodding his head towards the puppy, he added, "And that's Akamaru."

I smiled at him, and ever since that day, Kiba and I have been best friends.

In later years, his outgoing personality and my reserved one seemed to blossom, becoming more pronounced. We remained friends all through the academy, and then, to our surprise, were even placed in the same genin squad.

We got one year of being full-fledged ninjas, and then, the unthinkable happened.

A team of ninjas only a year older than ourselves were all killed in an ambush on a D-ranked mission.

The parent of one of these children was a very rich and powerful man, and he complained to the Hokage, and soon had a whole petition started. And from then on, all under-age ninja training was done in a classroom.

There were complaints, and protests, mostly by the genins and chunins, but the law stuck, and eventually everyone settled down. And life moved forward, a little different than before, but moving forward all the same.

.x.NOW.x.

The bell rang, marking the beginning of my first day in what they called my "sophomore year" in high school. My previous school year, as a freshman, was not too great, being the lowest level on the food chain. But this year, I was a tenth grader, and things were about to change.

I was sitting at my desk in Kurenai-sensei's room, next to Naruto, and a boy I had never seen before. Kurenai teaches Nin Jutsu, one of the simpler subjects. She was my teacher last year, and she and I got along really well. To start the first day of school, she called the class' attention to the front chalkboard.

"My name is Kurenai Yuuhi. There are only three things I want from you this year. One, you will call me Kurenai-sensei. Two, you will leave the fighting for whenever you have Baki-sensei's class. Three, Listen when I talk. That's pretty much it. Let's get started."

We started the year just like we did last year; with a simple review of hand seals. Of course, we all knew them by heart, but nonetheless, we spent the entire period practicing the hand seal patterns for nearly every jutsu in the book. It may seem boring, but since they come so easily to us, we got to spend the whole period talking to our friends.

Naruto supplied most of the conversation. I was never prone to talking much anyways. A few minutes into class, Neji joined the conversation too. Neji and Naruto have completely opposite personalities, but somehow, they got along great.

That class flew by in a flash, and before I knew it, I found myself sitting at my usual lunch table, accompanied by Kiba, Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Lee. Shino, Naruto, and Lee were having an animated conversation about who would win in today's sparring match, and Neji and Tenten were, as usual, absorbed in their standard lunch-time discussion. Which left Kiba and myself. Kiba was all too used to my customary silence, so he did most of the talking.

"Yeah, did you hear about those kids who moved here from Suna? I heard they were _banished!_" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Kiba, y-you don't know th-that yet." I replied, as forcefully as I could muster. It was hard, though, with my stutter still contaminating my speech.

"Oh, Hinata, you give people too much credit!" He scoffed, chuckling lightly. "I wonder what they did…"

I looked away, knowing that arguing was pointless. I looked around the lunch room, scanning for the new kids. I picked them out of the crowd instantly.

There were three of them, and they were sitting at a table alone. One had deep red hair, and wore excessively thick eyeliner. The other was the boy from my first period class. They also had a sister, who had short blonde hair, curled slightly and up in a short pony-tail. I watched them eat for a moment, when the red-head suddenly looked up at me.

He stared back at me with intense aqua eyes, and I felt trapped by his gaze; unable to look away. I felt naked; like he could see straight into my soul. I begged him in my head to look away; to let me go. And then, as if he could hear me, he suddenly dropped his gaze to his untouched plate, releasing me from his grasp.

Eyes wide with shock, I turned back to the table, where Kiba was staring at me, concern clouding his expression.

"Hinata, you alright?" He asked, obviously worried.

"Y-yeah K-kiba, I'm f-fine." I replied shakily, lowering my eyes to my food. I suddenly didn't feel like eating; my stomach was already full of butterflies.

Risky though it was, I stole a glance back at the table where the Suna siblings sat. The red head was gone. I sighed with relief, and turned back to my friends.

With a loud ring, the bell sounded, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of sixth period. I stood, grabbed my things, and exited the building with Kiba by my side.

Sixth period was taught by Asuma Sarutobi, who specialized in Chakra Control. This was one of my favorite classes, not just because of the subject, but also because Kiba was in it with me.

Absorbed in my conversation with Kiba, I did not notice the person standing just inside the door, and as I walked in the room, I walked right into them.

"Oh! I'm s-so s-sorry!" I breathed. But as I looked up to see who I had bumped into, I almost choked.

It was the red head.

He said nothing, but nodded down at me, giving me a small smile. Then, he turned back to his conversation, leaving me standing breathless in the doorway.

"Hinata? C'mon Hinata, we've gotta get to our seats." He reminded me, giving me a small tug in the direction of our desks. I followed him, still in my trance-like state.

The rest of the day passed by normally, and like always, I rode the bus, did homework, talked to Tenten on the phone, and then crawled into bed. But I could not sleep. And the only thing on my mind were those gripping aqua eyes…

* * *

Hope you liked it! Please Review! 

I do review replies at the end of every chapter, so if you review, then your name gets mentioned, here! Nifty, ne?


	2. Ame

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto is copyrighted to the creator, Masashi Kimimoto. This story is purely fan-made and is in no way associated with the anime company or the artist who created it.

Enjoy!

* * *

The next day was no better than the first. I realized that I had the red head in three of my periods; third, fifth (lunch), and sixth. And no matter how hard I tried, I could not keep myself from staring at him. But it was pretty obvious that this was not a one-sided obsession. Every once in a while, I'd catch him staring back at me too.

And it wasn't easy to get close to him either. He didn't seem to talk much; only to his sister and brother, and to Sasuke Uchiha, who he had become fast friends with. Other than that, he mostly kept to himself, and chose to partake in little human interaction. Except, of course, for when he was staring at me.

So for the rest of the week, my life went on normally, with the small exception of this stunning red head, whose name I still did not know. And then, sooner than I expected, it was Friday; the last day of my first week as a Sophomore.

Fourth period had just ended, and I was walking with Lee and Tenten to the lunch table. Lee had just sprinted ahead of us to greet Shino, and Tenten and I hung back for a second.

"So," She began, her tone obviously set on gossip. "I've seen you staring at that red-head a lot lately…"

"It's n-nothing, T-tenten." I answered, a blush coloring my cheeks.

"Oooo!" She exclaimed, a little too loudly. "I knew it Hinata! You like him don't you?"

My blush deepened, and I shook my head slowly.

"No T-tenten, its n-not like that, I…"

"It's okay Hinata!" She reassured, placing her hand lightly on my shoulder. "Just be careful, those guys can be vicious. C'mon, let's go eat." She steered me towards the lunch line, and to my utter horror, and also excitement, we got in line right behind the elusive red head.

I was hoping he wouldn't notice us, but Tenten, being the overly-friendly person she is, decided to tap him on the shoulder. I groaned internally.

He turned around, a look of curiosity and slight annoyance on his face. But then he noticed that I was standing next to her, and his face seemed to soften.

"Yes?" He asked her, his voice smooth and calm.

"My name's Tenten, and I wanted to welcome you to the high school, since I hadn't had the chance yet!" She said energetically, extending her hand.

The redhead looked down at her hand, plainly uninterested. Nonetheless, he took her hand, shaking it firmly.

"So… what's your name?" Tenten asked, with way to much enthusiasm. The red head gave her a bored look, and then turned to look at me.

He didn't say anything; he just stared at me, which was a really weird thing to do in the middle of the school cafeteria. And once again, I was trapped by his gaze. It was a very unfair thing to do, to trap me like that. And then suddenly, I wondered if he knew what he was doing.

Tenten, obviously annoyed at being ignored, waved her hand in front of his face, saying "Hello?" quite rudely. He turned his attention back to her, with a very annoyed expression stretched plainly across his face.

"Yes?" He retorted.

"I asked you a question!" Tenten pointed out defiantly.

"And I chose not to answer." He replied quite plainly, turning his back to us and facing the front of the line.

"Well!" Tenten exclaimed, obviously offended. I giggled lightly, the blush slowly subsiding from my cheeks.

After we had received our standard issue city lunches, we returned to our table to join our group of friends. But no more than three minutes into the meal, there was a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see the red head, standing over me, holding his lunch tray. Color rushed to my cheeks, and I seemed unable to speak, transfixed once again by his hypnotic eyes.

"May I?" He asked politely, gesturing to the empty seat next to me. Everyone at my table froze, and Lee, sensing my inability to talk, answered for me.

"Certainly! Please, feel free to join us!" He exclaimed, almost as enthusiastically as Tenten herself.

The red head nodded in Lee's direction, and he silently took his seat at my side. The lunch table continued to stare at him for a few more seconds, and then they were back to their normal conversations.

I turned to face him, wondering what he could want. Gray and Aqua met, combining for a second, communicating in a language all their own. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, making my heart leap.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, and I could sense the confidence in his voice; something I envied.

"H-hinata." I answered quietly, dropping my gaze to the floor. "W-what's yours?"

I didn't need to be looking at him to know that he was smiling, obviously amused by my overwhelming shyness.

"Gaara. Of the Desert." He responded proudly, and I lifted my gaze, staring at him.

"S-so, G-gaara, why d-did you s-sit by me t-today?" I asked, wishing with all my heart that I didn't have that annoying stutter.

"Well, I wanted to ask you something." He said, his voice trailing off in the exact direction I knew it would. Next to me, I felt Kiba stiffen.

"Do you want to hang out this weekend?"

My heart stopped. Of course I wanted to, but I couldn't seem to find my voice. I screamed yes in my head, and eventually, it burst out.

"Y-yeah, s-sure." I breathed, my face flushing tomato red. "Y-you mean, as in a d-date?"

His face fell slightly, and I knew I had asked the wrong question.

"Not exactly." He replied, smiling a little. "I just want to get to know you."

I felt Kiba relax a little, but I could tell he was still eavesdropping.

"Oh, okay." I agreed, smiling a little, feeling my blush recede.

The bell rang out, interrupting our conversation, cutting a barrier between us. As soon as it had silenced, he spoke again.

"See you in class, then." He finished, smiling at me as he stood, heading off to join Sasuke, who was also in my sixth period class.

I sighed, glad to be done with that. I turned to Kiba, ready to walk to class with him, when I caught him glaring at Gaara as he left the cafeteria.

"K-kiba!" I exclaimed, reprimanding him with as much authority as I could. He turned back to me, a serious look plastered on his face. He frowned down at me, and I quickly shut my mouth.

"Hinata, I don't like that guy." He stated bluntly.

"W-why?" I asked, shocked.

"Because, Hinata," he answered solemnly. "He smells like blood."

.x.X.x

The school day ended soon enough, and I rode the bus home in silent anticipation, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Saturday. I did my homework in a flash, and then went to sleep, though the sun had barely begun to set. The sooner I went to sleep, the sooner I would wake up to the beautiful sunshine of Saturday.

But when I opened my eyes, there was no beautiful sunshine. It was pouring rain, and I could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. I rolled over, glancing at my digital clock. The lights flashed "7:24" and I knew today would be a bad day for a date.

Despite my mood, I crawled out of bed, ran through my hair with my fingers, and trotted downstairs to the kitchen, where our chef, Takaharu, was cooking eggs and pancakes. I sat myself down at the breakfast bar, slouching a little, forcing my eyelids to stay open. I saw Neji come around the corner, and I straightened up to greet him.

"G-good morning Neji-san." I greeted him quietly, and he smiled back at me. ((A/N, would Hinata call him –san or –niisan? If anybody knows…))

"Good morning Hinata-sama." He replied coolly, taking his place beside me at the breakfast bar.

"So, how would you like your eggs this morning, Hinata-sama, scrambled or sunny side up?" Takaharu asked as he continued to flip pancakes.

"Scrambled, please." I answered, giving him a smile, even though his back was turned.

"And you, Neji?"

"Scrambled too, if you would." He answered calmly. And as he said that, I realized that his voice reminded me of someone. It reminded me of Gaara. They were both so calm, so collected, and so confident! I had always wanted to be those things, but sadly, Hanabi, my sister, was blessed with those traits, and not me.

I smiled, pleased with myself. I had always respected my cousin, and if Gaara was like him, then I must have discovered a great guy.

.x.X.x.

Time went by in a flash, and it seemed no more than ten minutes later that the clock was striking five; the time Gaara had agreed to come pick me up.

I sat on the small sofa near the front door, purse in my lap and hair tied up in a neat bun, achieved shockingly by my mother, despite the utter shortness of my hair. I waited there, watching the second hand on the clock as it moved around the face once, twice, three times… and eventually, twenty times. What was taking him so long?

My mother entered the living room, a sad, worried look on her face.

"Sweetie," she began, her tone soft, as if I were delicate; about to break. "It's been twenty minutes… I don't think he's coming."

I had suspected this all along, but would not admit it. _He told me he'd be here, he has to be coming… right?_

I rose to my feet, sighing. My mother was right. I had been stood up, and there was no way around it. In my rage, angry tears flooded my eyes, and I darted up the stairs to my bedroom, slamming the door on my way in.

I flung myself onto my bed, sobbing angrily into my sheets. _I can't believe I thought he actually liked me_, I screamed in my head, sniffling a bit. I surprised myself by throwing my purse across the room. It collided with the wall at an amazing speed, actually leaving a small dent. I was usually not a violent person, but I was angry, upset, and hurt.

I thought I heard my mother knocking, but I couldn't hear her through my sobs. But I yelled "N-not n-now mother." Just for good measure.

Then, somehow, through my sobbing and hiccupping, I heard a small tap on my window. I looked up, wiping the tears on my pillow, just in time to see a second rock fly up, knocking gently against the glass.

* * *

Dont forget to review, especially if you have some good ideas! And also, if you know what suffix Hinata uses for Neji, I'd really like to know!

Here are the awesome people who reviewed last time!

**kikyoslostfriend: **Thanks so much for the review! I wanna hear more from you!

**puppiescute a.k.a. Mic Mic: **Hm... I can't tell you what happens, it'd spoil the story! lol but thanks so much for reviewing.

**SilentAbyss: **Hahaha I LOVE your first idea! I might just write a parody of my own story with that... lol Thanks so much for the review, I love it when they're long like that.

Thanks for reading!!

-Suna.Tenma


	3. Hogo

Whoa! It's been a long time! Sorry for the wait, but school started, I've been soooo busy with Cross country, and a few days ago, I pretty much broke my hand. (haha almost) But here it is! The third chapter of "This Cliche Tragedy"

DISCLAIMER:

* * *

The sheeting rain continued to pour behind the foggy glass, and I almost wondered if I had imagined it. I waited for a few seconds, but nothing except the rain interrupted the stillness of the night. Then, after a long pause, a third rock flew up, and I knew I wasn't dreaming.

Quickly, I stumbled out of bed and raced to the window, throwing it open harshly and thrusting my head through the opening.

The rain immediately drenched my hair, and it fell in my face in small wet blankets. I squinted through the night, scanning the front yard, but the conditions made it impossible to see anything. Groaning, I pulled my head back inside and slammed the window closed, turning to the door and noticing that my mother had left. So I slowly turned the handle, tiptoeing quietly downstairs.

When I got there, I glanced around the room, making sure no one was within range. Then, carefully, I opened the door and peered outside, tensing up, waiting for the person to reveal themselves.

As I stood on the front porch, attempting hopelessly to see through the sheet of darkness, I suddenly felt something brush against my leg. It was quick, and I almost missed it, but it was enough to send shivers down my spine. I froze, not daring to even breathe. Then, I felt it again, a small wet object, pressing itself against me. Slowly, being careful to make as little motion as possible, I tilted my head to see what was shoving itself against my exposed calf.

I exhaled my breath, rolling my eyes.

It was Akamaru.

I sighed again, my heartbeat slowing and my breathing returning to normal once again. Akamaru barked gently, and I knelt down to gently pat him on the head, scratching him behind is left ear in the exact spot I knew he loved. Within seconds, Kiba was standing over me, smirking like I had seen him do so many times.

"Did I scare you?" he asked, a cocky grin stretched over his damp face. I knew I didn't have to answer; Kiba could detect most human emotion through scent alone.

"K-kiba, what are y-you doing h-here?" I stuttered, keeping my gaze fixed on the puppy that stared back at me with a playful grin.

"Well," he began, "I figured that crazy Gaara kid wouldn't show, so I decided to surprise you and take you out to dinner."

He smiled down ay me, his we bangs hanging untidily over his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Th-thank you K-kiba. But G-gaara's n-not crazy."

He frowned, the smile still glinting in his eyes.

"Close enough."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation, laughing lightly, knowing there was no arguing with Kiba.

"So; Shall we?" He extended his arm in a very gentlemen-like manor that seemed very out of place next to his comfortable smile.

"Sure." I replied, smiling up at him and taking his arm in mine as we headed down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

.x.X.x.

We arrived at the restaurant fairly quickly, and dinner passed by in a flash. Afterwards, he took me to a local park where they were having an open-mike stage night, which they did every other Saturday. We listened to the singers and critiqued them on their voices. Most of them were pretty decent, but there were a few who really should have stayed home. Then, about 20 minutes into the show, Kiba gave me a light shove, and smirked down at me.

"W-what?" I asked, puzzled.

"You should sing."

I shook my head quickly, a blush instantly staining my cheeks.

"Oh n-no, Kiba. I c-couldn't." I insisted, my tone a strange combination of fierce and frightened.

"C'mon Hinata, I've heard you sing, you have an amazing voice!" He pleaded, begging me more with his eyes than with his actual voice.

"N-no, Kiba."

"Please?"

"N-no."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeaaaase?"

"N-no Kiba!"

"Hinata, please, just trust me, your voice is beautiful! You could out-sing anyone here!"

"I'm s-sorry, Kiba, I j-just c-cant." I stared into his eyes, trying to communicate to him what I couldn't say in words. Hoping he could see the things I would never say. I was too weak, and that was all there was to it.

"Hinata, you're never going to get anywhere if you're to afraid to be noticed." He replied gently, giving a frustrated sigh. I tilted my head down, ashamed, but too nervous to say anything. I felt him relax slightly next to me, and he sighed again, wrapping his arms around me. It was strange; even in the pouring rain, he was still incredibly warm. But it wasn't just his physical closeness that warmed me. His very… essence, seemed to seep into me, warming my mood, and melting all my doubt away.

"It's alright, Hinata. I'm sorry." He whispered softly. "I shouldn't have pressured you. You don't have to sing. I just… I just wanted you to realize how beautiful you can really be."

I smiled into his chest, and I knew that he only wanted what was best for me. But he had always been an outgoing, courageous person, whereas I had always been shy and easily intimidated. Our personalities were so utterly opposite, it was sometimes hard for him to understand why I couldn't do things as easily as him; why I was different from him. But maybe it was because our personalities were so opposite that we were so good for each other. We used each other's differences to grow, and learn. But sadly, no matter how good for each other we were, there would always be those times when he just wouldn't understand how I felt.

I smiled, breathing in the familiar scent of my best friend.

I could work around that.

.x.X.x.

Before I knew it, the night was over, and I was standing on my front doorstep, the dim porch light flickering on and off; a bad habit of the old electrical wiring in our house.

"Th-thanks s-so much K-kiba." I whispered, reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. It was a gesture of friendship I had used with him since the academy.

"No prob." He replied happily, smiling down at me.

I leaned down and stoked Akamaru affectionately. "Thank you too, Akamaru." I said gently, as he barked happily in return.

"Well, goodnight Hinata-chan." He finished. I smiled, recognizing my pet name.

"Goodnight K-kiba." I echoed, and with that he turned on his heel and headed down the sidewalk, as the rain slowly began to fade into a light mist. Smiling, I inserted the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

The house was dark inside, as I expected, and I quickly headed upstairs to my room. Inside, I immediately collapsed on my bed, exhausted from the night's events; I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

.x.X.x.

Sunday went by uneventfully. My mother was tired from working in the yard the day before, and so she decided we were staying home from church. That left me with absolutely nothing to do.

So, with nothing better to fill the time, I picked up the phone to call Gaara. Then, being the coward that I am, I set it back down. I did this a few more times throughout the day, but I unnerved myself each time, telling myself that I had no idea what I would say. This was only partially true. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but that was not really the same as what I actually would say.

So instead, I spent the day getting ahead on my algebra homework. By the time the sun set that afternoon, I was more than 2 weeks ahead. Some might call it a waste of time. I called it "trying to keep a certain lying redhead off my mind."

The next morning, Monday came, pushing its bright cheery sunshine into my bedroom despite the blatantly shut blinds. I rolled out of bed groggily, and then remembered that today I would see Gaara again, and that both excited me and frightened me. In a small way, I was anxious to see him; to find out where he had been. And to prove that he really did care about me, and that Saturday night had been one big misunderstanding. But for that exact reason, I was also nervous. What if it really wasn't a misunderstanding? What if… he really didn't like me at all? As much as I tried to push the thoughts from my mind, they kept creeping back. And until I talked to Gaara, I could not defend myself against those haunting thoughts.

But when third period actually rolled around, and I caught sight of Gaara, he did not look the same as he had the week before. Something was different. His hair and make-up was the same, along with his clothing, but there was something about his expression that just did not belong. He looked exhausted, and overwhelmed. The change stood out drastically compared to the cocky, secretive smile that he had given me only three short days earlier.

He eventually noticed me staring at him, and he turned to glace in my direction, staring at me blankly for only a few seconds before abruptly turning back to his work, almost as though afraid that I would stare at him too long and figure out what he was thinking. I looked away, feeling even more confused than before. What was wrong with him?

At the end of the period, the bell rang, clattering its way into everyone's thoughts and disrupting the calm of the classroom. I quickly stood up, stuffing my things into my bag, but by the time I was ready to walk out, Gaara was already gone. _Well,_ I thought, _I'll just talk to him at lunch, I guess._

When I got to the lunchroom, to my surprise, Gaara was already seated at the lunch table, along with Shino, Kiba, Neji, and Naruto. The latter appeared to be attempting to talk with the dull-looking redhead, but Gaara did not seem to keen to respond. Slowly, Lee, Tenten and I approached the table, Tenten taking her usual seat at Neji's side, and Lee rushing over to sit between Shino and Naruto. That left me next t Kiba, and across from Gaara. I took my seat cautiously, already sensing Kiba's stiffness and not knowing just what to expect from the dark-eyed ninja. Naruto had apparently abandoned his conversation with Gaara, and he now turned to stare intently at me, while Kiba, unbeknown to Gaara, continued to glare at him out of the corner of his eye. Feeling uncharacteristically brace, I decided to break the ice.

"Gaara-kun, w-where w-were you on S-saturday?"

As if snapping out of a trance, he blinked once, and then looked up at me again, as if actually noticing me for the first time.

"Huh? Oh, Saturday." He mumbled, running a hand slowly through his untidy hair. "Hinata, I am sorry about that. My brother," he paused, shooting a glance toward the older Suna boy, "went off and got arrested, and Temari and I had to go bail him out."

"B-bail him out?" I repeated quizzically, my curiosity peaking.

"Yeah, he got pulled over and sent in for a D.U.I." He answered, exasperation plain on his face.

"Oh."

"Really, Hinata, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"What do you mean 'again'?"

Shocked, Gaara and I both looked up, meeting the furious gaze of Kiba Inuzuka.

"Who ever said there'd be a next time?" Kiba growled angrily, glaring viciously at Gaara, malice melting in his tone.

"Well," Gaara replied, calmly staring back into Kiba's terrifying gaze. "There may not be a next time, true, but I think that matter is for Hinata to decide."

I turned to face Kiba, trembling slightly. He continued to shoot daggers at Gaara, staring intently, as if trying to melt Gaara's very skin off the bone. Then, sighing, he turned his gaze to me, a slightly annoyed look coloring his face.

"He's right, Hinata." Kiba admitted, shooting another quick glare in Gaara's direction. "It's your decision. Sorry. I should've just stayed out of it." Angrily, he shoved his chair back and rose from his seat, stalking from the cafeteria.

"K-kiba, wait!" I called after him, but he was gone before I could even see which direction he had gone. Feeling extremely guilty, I turned back to Gaara, who was staring sadly at his hands as he held them folded together in his lap. Something was defiantly going wrong here, and someone was defiantly keeping something from me. How could Gaara's brother getting a D.U.I make Gaara so upset?

"G-Gaara, I'm sorry, I have to go find Kiba." I apologized, hoping he wouldn't be too upset.

"I understand." He replied blankly, without looking up.

For a moment, I sat, debating. Should I stay with Gaara, and try and figure out what was bothering him? Or go make amends with Kiba, and make sure I hadn't done any damage?

Well, Kiba had been my friend for ten years, and I had known Gaara for about ten days. I figured that Kiba had priority over Gaara. So, giving Gaara one last glance, I took off down the halls, desperate to find my hurting friend.

It didn't take long for me to find him. I knew exactly where he would be. He would be at the smallest, youngest oak tree on the whole school campus. This tree had been planted, in fact, just around ten years ago.

"_**K-kiba, what are you doing?"**_

_**The small boy looked up from the hole he was digging, dirt streaked carelessly across his soft face.**_

"_**I'm digging a hole!" He smiled up from the pit he stood in, squinting his eyes into the sunshine. The small white dog at his ankle looked up too, imitating his master.**_

"_**F-for what?"**_

"_**For a tree!" He exclaimed excitedly. The dog barked in agreement, and then the two turned back to their digging in unison.**_

"_**Is th-the school l-letting you d-do that?"**_

"_**Of course!" He reassured me, without looking up from his work.**_

_**And sure enough, the very next day, he and his mother brought in a small oak-tree sprout, and they planted it in the hole that morning.**_

"_**K-Kiba?" I remember asking him one day, about a week after the tree had been planted.**_

"_**Yeah Hinata?"**_

"_**Well, um… Why d-did you plant that t-tree?"**_

_**He smiled back at me, pride shining in his eyes.**_

"_**Well, I figure the world's so full of bad stuff, it's not gonna hurt anyone to have a little more beauty in their lives."**_

Now, whenever Kiba was feeling upset, or wasn't exactly very happy, he could disappear, to the far edge of the campus, where his oak tree was always waiting for him. Not to mention that Akamaru loved to lay in it's shade while Kiba was in class.

"K-Kiba?" I asked hesitantly, hoping that he was not too angry to talk, and that if he was, that he was at least calm enough to listen.

"Yeah?" He replied, his voice sounding relatively normal, but just a little agitated.

"K-kiba, I'm s-sorry. B-but I d-don't understand…" I broke off, not knowing exactly how to finish. There was something about this that I didn't get… but I just couldn't figure out what that thing was.

"I don't understand w-why you're m-mad."

He looked up at me, slight surprise showing in his eyes.

"You really don't?" He asked, disbelieving. I shook my head. "Hinata, you're the closest friend I have ever, and probably will ever have. When other guys come into your life… well, I guess I'm just naturally protective. And then, when they come into your life and hurt you like that… You think I like seeing you pour yourself into this guy who just goes out and hurts you?"

I froze, suddenly understanding. He didn't believe that Gaara was busy. He just thought that Gaara was standing me up. But how could that be? Why would Gaara do that? He said his brother got arrested… he said he was sorry. Why would he lie?

"K-kiba. I'm r-really sorry. I d-don't mean to m-make you w-worry." I whispered, feeling angry with myself, that I had sacrificed my best friend for a stranger. "Y-you've done so much f-for me. Like Saturday." I smiled, remembering the night at the park, and the walk home in the rain. "Thanks again, K-kiba."

He looked up, and smiled, the comforting smile that I loved so much slowly returning to his face, his eyes filling with the warmth of our memories.

"Yeah, it was nothing."

"Y-you need to be careful, though." I laughed jokingly. "Three rocks, Kiba? Y-you could've broken my window."

He cocked his head to the side at this, though, extinguishing my giggling almost immediately.

"Three rocks?" He repeated, confused. "Hinata, I only threw one."

* * *

Whoo! So, dont forget to reveiw! Because all the cool people review. Cool people like these ones:

**SilentAbyss:** Wow, your sister sounds like she is very in touch with her cats. xD lol

**puppiescute a.k.a. Mic Mic: **Yeah, it's really boring when you write Gaara stories with Gaara in character. Well, not always, but you have to be a pretty skilled writer to make it interesting. Okay, in the future I will call him Neji-niisan.

**Wolfbane2005: **Thanks!!

**xXx13EMO13xXx: **Yeah, about the "soon" part... Im not too good at that. Sowwy!


End file.
